Reason and Critical Thinking

Weinstein, Mark

doi:10.22329/il.v10i1.2634

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…243 Än mer framträdande är en pedagogisk-teoretisk kritik av kurserna, som handlar om att den informella logiken inte kan bli relevant om den inte anpassas till olika aspekter av det pedagogiska arbetet, såsom undervisningstekniker, ämneskulturer och institutionella förutsättningar. 244 Som stöd för argumentationen för en bredare och mer kontextkänslig form av kritiskt tänkande åberopas filosofer som Habermas 245 och Dewey. 246 Även mer specifika perspektiv jämförs med den informella logikens konception av kritiskt tänkande, såsom utvecklingspsykologi, 247 läsförmåga 248 och feminism.…”

Section: Institutionalisering Genom Akademiseringunclassified

Kritiskt tänkande som utbildningsmål: Från modernistisk filosofi till policy för högre utbildning

Berglund

2021

Uppsala Studies in Education

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The goal of critical thinking in higher education is paradoxical, since it implies a form of education that both directs the student towards a pre-defined goal, and commands the student to be autonomous. This paradox is studied in four contexts, as to investigate what pedagogical contradictions the goal of critical thinking generates, and how they transform pedagogical thinking. 1) In the 1930s, European logical positivists cooperated with American pragmatists to "unify science". For Dewey, the realisation of this ideal depended on individuals adopting a "scientific attitude", which could be cultivated in schools and universities. Dewey's position influenced a pedagogical discourse of critical thinking as the spirit of rational and democratic citizenship. 2) In the 1980s, the Critical Thinking Movement (CTM) addressed the issue on how to make logical thinking applicable in everyday life. Understanding critical thinking as individuals' problem-solving skills, the CTM essentially inverted the collectivist political orientation of Dewey and the neo-positivists. 3) In the Swedish 1968 governmental investigation of higher education (U 68), a sociologically informed conception of critical thinking, that involved the student in the project of social planning, was promoted. However, educational experts perceived critical thinking as a vague goal, which could not be operationalised. In the 1990s, critical thinking reappeared as part of the doctrine of learning, but only as a generic term used to signify advanced cognitive operations in relation to different subject matters. 4) In contemporary courses in critical thinking held at Swedish universities, radically diverse conceptions are being taught. An analysis of three courses identified three subjectivities "called" by the arrangements and bodies of literature in the courses: the critical thinker as reason, intellect, and moral consciousness. Each of the subjectivities, however, comprises inconsistencies and contradictions, since they are all to be both produced by and autonomous from the orders that the educational institution represents. The dissertation is concluded by a discussion on critical thinking as both a goal and a by-product of education.

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Section: Institutionalisering Genom Akademiseringunclassified

Kritiskt tänkande som utbildningsmål: Från modernistisk filosofi till policy för högre utbildning

Berglund

2021

Uppsala Studies in Education

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“…Rationality is thus not simply a means to promote autonomy and dignity but an essential component of both (Siegel, 1988;Strike, 1982a). Thus, we should educate children in a way that promotes rationality not only be-cause this serves as a means to other ends but because such education is an affirmation of who we are and what we value (Rescher, 1988;Weinstein, 1988).…”

Section: Rationality As An End In Itselfmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Research suggested that good thinking was primarily a matter of expertise in the content area of concern (Chase and Simon, 1973;Chi, 1978;Keil, 1984;see Perkins and Salomon, 1989). Concepts such as broad, universal developmental stages and general thinking skills were increasingly questioned (see Weinstein, 1988).…”

Section: The Role Of Content Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Rationality itself is, by any account, one of our oldest and most important traditions (Rescher, 1988;Strike, 1982a;Weinstein, 1988). Underlying our various moral, legal, political, and social traditions and institutions is a longstanding conception of each individual as a rational agent, reflectively deciding what to think and do and accepting the responsibility for those decisions and actions.…”

Section: Inculcation Of Social Traditionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Rationality as a goal of education

Moshman

1990

Educ Psychol Rev

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Those who believe education should involve more than learning facts often stress either (a) development or (b) thinking skills. A focus on development as a goal of education typically entails a conception of knowledge as organismic, holistic, and internally generated. In contrast, thinking skills programs commonly assume a mechanistic, reductionist perspective in which good thinking consists of some finite number of directly teachable skills. A conception of rationality as a goal of education is proposed that incorporates the complementary strengths and avoids the limitations of the developmental and thinking skills approaches. Rationality is defined as the self-reflective, intentional, and appropriate coordination and use of genuine reasons in generating and justifying beliefs and behavior. Philosophically, rationality is a justifiable goal of education, not only because it is a means to worthwhile ends but because it is an important end in itself and because it can be promoted via non-indoctrinative means. A psychological account of progressive rationality is provided that postulates continuing multiple interactions of (a) domain-specific developmental stages, (b) the learning of specific thinking skills, and (c) content-specific knowledge. Suggestions are made for fostering rationality at various educational levels. Finally, it is argued that the proposed conception of rationality as a goal of education complements and clarifies a variety of other educational goals.

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Reason and refutation: a review of two recent books by Harvey Siegel

Weinstein

1992

Stud Philos Educ

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Reason and Critical Thinking

Abstract: Reason and Critical Thinking

Cited by 5 publications

References 30 publications

Kritiskt tänkande som utbildningsmål: Från modernistisk filosofi till policy för högre utbildning

Kritiskt tänkande som utbildningsmål: Från modernistisk filosofi till policy för högre utbildning

Rationality as a goal of education

Reason and refutation: a review of two recent books by Harvey Siegel

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